Welcome to the first entry of Northwest Construction Zone, Schwabe’s blog about all things involving construction and government contracting that affect the Northwest. With this blog we hope to provide insights into current trends in the law affecting contractors, design professionals, and those doing business with local, state and federal government agencies. We will occasionally be in the position to forecast potential outcomes, regarding legislation affecting the construction and government contracting industries. We will use this space as a way to direct readers to other resources with valuable information about the state of the law, the construction economy, and other items of interest to the industry.

At the same time we are launching this blog, we are launching a monthly column in the Portland Daily Journal of Commerce called “Construction Zone.” Each month a member of Schwabe’s construction team will provide insight into a different area affecting the construction industry. This month’s column addresses a recent change to the law regarding contractual subrogation waivers, which was passed by the 2011 Oregon Legislature.

We hope you enjoy and get some value from this blog. We will be posting regularly, and we would love your feedback – what topics interest you, what are we missing, how can we make this a more valuable service for you? In the meantime, thanks for reading!